CHAPTER 53: A BRA THIS BIG?

"Didn’t he say he didn’t know who she was? Couldn’t he just be some random tagalong?" the woman asked.

"Then we’ll kill him later if he’s useless," Mardyn replied. "But for now, he might have value as a hostage, no?"

"Hm, true..."

A human wielding a flying sword was no small threat. She’d be a thorn in his plans to conquer this world later. Their exact relationship was unclear, but the man could still serve as leverage.

"Let’s squeeze more information out of him while we have him," Mardyn said, striding with the woman toward the chamber where they’d locked up the prisoner.

The man had supposedly spilled everything without torture, but that was only surface-level. Nothing was as reliable as brainwashing. That was Mardyn’s belief.

"...Why isn’t it working?" he growled, frustration mounting.

"Hehe... Master..." The man’s voice came out oddly, almost giggling.

"And what’s with these creepy noises he’s making?" Mardyn snapped.

Strangely, the brainwashing refused to take hold. Suspecting the Hermit’s Mantle, Mardyn even placed his hand directly on the man’s head, but the spell kept failing, repelled like water off a lotus leaf. He couldn’t remove the cloak either. The Hermit’s obsessive concealment magic ensured that only someone with exceptional skill to disrupt its mana circuits—or overwhelming brute force—could unveil the wearer’s face. Mardyn possessed neither.

"There’s no resisting energy in his body..." Mardyn muttered, baffled.

At first, he’d assumed it was divine power pushing back, but this world’s priests were strange. The man had no trace of energy resisting the brainwashing. Somehow, he was repelling it with sheer natural resilience.

Even drugs were useless.

"Why?! Why is it all bouncing off?!" Mardyn shouted, his composure fraying. "Why?!"

"C-Calm down, Master," the woman stammered.

"If it were mana or divine power, I’d understand! What is this?!"

The drugs, like the brainwashing, had no effect. This was a type of human Mardyn had never encountered.

+

Deep in the night, in a small house nestled among the mountains, Yuseong stirred.

"Ugh..."

He squinted, his upper clothes hanging loosely, nearly slipping off his shoulders.

"Master...? What are you doing there...?"

His voice was groggy, puzzled, as he saw his master—who he’d thought was sleeping beside him—hovering over his body.

Flash.

A strange light flickered, and his eyes fluttered shut, sleep reclaiming him.

Zzz...

Just another peaceful night in the forest.

+

Splash, splash.

Washing laundry in the stream before the house, Yuseong called out to his master, who was sprawled lazily in the distance.

"Master, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?" she replied, her tone casual.

"What did you do in the martial world?"

At first, he’d thought she was just a quirky recluse, but after years together, he realized she was a master of countless skills—fortune-telling, brewing medicine, hunting, and wielding all manner of tricks. Who was she?

"My days wandering the martial world are so far back, I barely remember," she said dismissively.

"You just don’t want to tell me."

"Fine, I don’t want to tell you."

"You’re brutally honest when it suits you," Yuseong grumbled, splashing the last of the laundry into the water.

"Master, now that I think about it, with your cultivation, your chest wouldn’t sag even without a breast band. Why bother with one?"

"Didn’t you tell me to wear it? Now it feels strange without one."

"It’s a pain to wash every time," he muttered.

Why does it have to be so ridiculously big?

Soaking a bra large enough to cover his face on one side, Yuseong sighed inwardly. He’d suggested it thinking it’d make her more comfortable—who knew it’d come back to haunt him like this?

"More importantly," his master said, "aren’t you the one who should be embarrassed, talking so casually about another woman’s breasts?"

"Says the woman who dumps all her laundry—including her underwear—on that same man."

"What’s there to be shy about when we sleep side by side every night?"

"Please don’t say things that could be misconstrued," Yuseong shot back.

He’d grown used to her teasing by now. They’d seen everything there was to see, living together in such close quarters, but there were still lines people shouldn’t cross. She was practically dancing on them.

How much does she plan to ruin my marriage prospects?

Good thing it was just the two of them. If anyone else overheard, the gossip would be relentless—Master and disciple, tangled up together. In this world, the master-disciple bond was akin to parent and child. It’d cause an uproar.

"Who’s here to misunderstand? It’s just us," she said, smirking.

"...Are you seriously planning to keep me trapped in these mountains forever?"

"If you had the skill to venture into the martial world and come back in one piece, maybe. But in your current state, what could you do out there?"

"I could make money telling fortunes," Yuseong said defensively.

"I’d bet my life you’d stir up trouble with that face of yours."

"What’s wrong with my face?" he muttered.

"Just listen to your master. Follow my lead, and you’ll have meat on your plate even while you sleep."

"Oh, speaking of that, Master—lately, I’ve been waking up with my body aching."

"...What do you mean?" Her tone sharpened slightly.

"I sleep fine, but it feels like I’ve been doing intense exercise. My legs and pelvis hurt the most. Any idea why?"

Chapter 54: You Dare Touch My Boy?!

"..."

My master’s face clouded with unease at my words before she spoke. "You’re right. Your sleeping habits are

terrible, aren’t they?"

"Huh?!" I blinked, caught off guard.

"You kick me in your sleep, flailing like you’re unloading all your pent-up resentment toward your master under the guise of bad habits."

Just like that, she diagnosed me with sleepwalking. I tried to fix my sleeping habits in my own way, but it was no use—I slept so deeply it was almost unnatural.

"Master, even if you say that out of nowhere, there’s no one around to—"

"Someone’s been kidnapped, I tell you! How many times do I have to say we need a tracker?!"

Her voice cut through our banter, sharp with urgency. My heart pounded faster with every passing second.

The Blood Cult.

Those vile bastards wouldn’t leave a hostage unscathed. Anyone who’d traveled with me, even briefly, would face torture to extract every scrap of information. If that failed, they’d turn to sinister curses to shatter their minds.

The longer we delayed, the slimmer the chance he’d remain unharmed.

"Even if I have to scour this entire region alone..." I muttered, reckless determination rising.

Rumble.

A familiar sound, like rolling thunder, reached my ears.

"Looks like rain’s coming," my master said. "Let’s head inside."

"Those clouds don’t look normal," I replied, squinting at the sky.

Dark, ominous clouds had gathered, heavy and foreboding. They felt strangely familiar.

"...Ye So-cheon?" I whispered.

Ye So-cheon, the Thunder Sword—a friend and rival I hadn’t seen much since the war with the Blood Cult ended. Those clouds reminded me of the ones that loomed when we fought side by side.

"Is she nearby?" I wondered aloud.

For a moment, I hoped she might be in the area, but the odds were slim. Since the war, she’d rarely left Mount Kunlun. The chances of her being here in Anhui were next to none.

If not her, then these clouds had another purpose.

"...Maybe."

I started walking in the direction the clouds drifted, clinging to a desperate hunch.

+

"Huff... huff... damn it... a mere barbarian..."

Mardin glared at the man before him, panting heavily.

He’d assumed the man’s resistance would have a limit, so he kept trying to brainwash or drug him. But aside from a slightly dazed expression, there was no effect.

"Master, we’re burning through precious herbs," the woman said cautiously. "You’re low on mana, too. Why not rest?"

"What, you think I can’t break a measly mental barrier like this?!" Mardin snapped, his pride stung.

"I only meant it’s a waste for you to expend energy on something so trivial," she said smoothly.

She’d learned how to handle him. This vampire would never admit weakness, so she had to stroke his ego to get through to him. He had the temperament of a child.

"If there’s anything else you’re curious about, I’ll torture him all night for answers," she continued. "You should rest and recover from your journey, Master. Menial tasks like this are better left to someone as lowly as me."

"...Hmph. True. No need for me to waste my energy on torture," Mardin said, smirking, clearly pleased.

"Fine. I’ll rest. Make that man obedient. The sunlight’s been throwing me off anyway."

Unlike their original world’s sun, which could melt vampires, this world’s sunlight only weakened them—a trait inherited from their kind. Still, it allowed them to operate during the day, if only for a while.

"Rest well, Master. I’ll handle everything," the woman said.

After Mardin left, she turned to the fortune-teller, who swayed in a daze.

Sway, sway.

"Can you hear me?" she asked.

"Hehe... feels good..." he mumbled.

"He’s definitely not brainwashed," she muttered.

She knew what brainwashed people were like—lifeless eyes, silent compliance, nothing more. Though she couldn’t see his eyes under the hood, his current state wasn’t that. He seemed more like he was drunk or lost in a haze.

"...Hmm."

Glancing around to ensure Mardin was gone, she leaned closer to the fortune-teller. That scent she’d noticed earlier hit her again, intoxicating and irresistible.

Gulp.

Her mouth watered, her fangs itching to sink into his neck.

She couldn’t bite the hostage without permission—not until Mardin returned. But he didn’t seem to care much about this one.

"He won’t mind," she murmured.

She’d already said she’d do whatever it took to make him talk. If Mardin returned and made a fuss or tried to dispose of him, it wouldn’t matter.

A scent this divine was worth risking her life for.

Rustle, rustle.

Her hand slipped inside his hood, brushing against his neck where her fangs would pierce. His skin was soft, fragile, stirring both hunger and desire with a single touch.

If she missed this chance, she might never encounter such an exquisite specimen again.

"That tickles..." he mumbled.

"Stay still," she whispered. "It’ll only hurt for a moment when I bite."

"...Wait. That line sounds kinda weird—"

Had she slipped up? His voice sharpened, as if his mind was clearing.

She hurried, leaning into the shadows of his hood, her fangs aimed at his delicate neck—

BOOOOM!

A deafening crash, like a wall collapsing, echoed from above.

That must’ve snapped him out of it.

"What—what’s that?! What are you doing?!" he yelped.

"...Tch."

He was fully awake now.

No matter. A quick bite, a few gulps of blood—it wouldn’t take long—

"What’s all this noise?! Go check it out now!" Mardin’s voice roared from elsewhere.

Grit.

Cursing her infuriating master under her breath, she turned and headed toward the upper floor where the sound had come from.

"...An intruder?" she muttered.

At the source of the noise stood a woman, her face contorted with fury, her sword gleaming in her grip.

Shhhk!

"You dare... you dare touch that child..." she snarled.